Audit of Bradley County Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center applauds nursing home management

Audit of Bradley County Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center applauds nursing home management

October 23rd, 2011by Randall Higgins in News

Ann Petralak plays bingo with other residents at the Bradley County Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Cleveland, Tenn. An audit of the nursing home for the county commission says the facility's financial status is good, and lauds patient care and staff.

Wilma Blair plays bingo with other residents at the Bradley County Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Cleveland. An audit of the nursing home for the county commission says the facility's financial status is good, and lauds patient care and staff.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Bradley County's nursing home is doing well both fiscally and in terms of its physical condition, according to an auditor's report.

Bill Matheney of Matheney Stees and Associates made his annual report recently to the Bradley County Commission. Earlier, the board at Bradley County Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center got the same report.

"In the current economy it is very difficult for the nursing home industry to make a profit," Matheney said. The county-owned home, however, is well managed and earning a profit, he said.

The facility is "essentially debt free," according to the written report.

Joseph Newcomb, nursing home administrator, said the facility's focus is on patient care, 54 years after the home opened its doors.

Many patients are able to gain a degree of independence because of rehabilitation, he said.

"Of course, some residents spend their last days with us," Newcomb said. "Many times we see employees bond with these patients and their families [and] the employees join in the grieving process, too."

But there could be worrisome clouds on the horizon, Matheney cautioned.

Things that may keep administrators up at night, he said, includes the current economy, health care reform, the approaching nursing home needs of the baby boom generation, the uncertain future of state reimbursement to the TennCare program πand access to capital.

Matheney, addressing the last point, noted the home is "structurally strong, aesthetically appealing, but there may be a point in the future when Bradley Healthcare may have to have access to capital for repairs or renovation."